Imac RAM upgrade question

[paulwgraber]

Hi. As you all know I just got a 2017 3.8 27" Imac and am wanted to buy some RAM upgrades for it as it comes standard with 8G I assume. While I would like to go all out with 64G I cant afford that right now so my question is how much is a good compromise? Will be doing some gaming, Graphic art and video editiong.
Also do I add it in 8G increments or 16G increments depending on how much I add? It has 4 slots right, so I assume there is just one 8G RAM chip in it?
Thx

 

[iTurbo]

4 slots total, and if it's got 8GB now it will be 2 4GB DIMMS installed, with 2 other slots empty. It is recommended you install them in matched pairs. I would get either 2 4GB or 2 8GB DIMMS to upgrade.

 

[DeltaMac]

Yes, there's 4 slots.
Normal (default) shipping configuration (8GB total) would have 2 slots filled: 2 x 4GB SODIMMs installed.
Leaves you with 2 empty, or replace the 4GB sticks when you want to upgrade to more than 40GB.

I don't particularly have a recommendation for you - just what I would likely do:
Add a pair of 8GB, giving you 24GB, plenty (IMHO) for most anything that you might do, unless you do top-level/4K video editing, or need to run a bunch of VMs.

 

[Richdmoore]

Hi. As you all know I just got a 2017 3.8 27" Imac and am wanted to buy some RAM upgrades for it as it comes standard with 8G I assume. While I would like to go all out with 64G I cant afford that right now so my question is how much is a good compromise? Will be doing some gaming, Graphic art and video editiong.
Also do I add it in 8G increments or 16G increments depending on how much I add? It has 4 slots right, so I assume there is just one 8G RAM chip in it?
Thx

You probably have two 4g sticks, and two empty slots. You can easily check the configuration by going going to the apple menu, about, and then clicking memory.

My computer came with 16 gb (2 sticks of 8 gb) and two empty slots.

While I believe you can add single sticks, I believe you lose some performance, and it is recommended to add memory in pairs. (Most kits include two ram sticks for this reason.)

I ordered crucial mac memory on amazon, it was $300 at the time to add a 32gb set (2 x 16gb). I left the stock ram in place, for a total al 48 gb.

Maximum memory for the 2017 iMac is 64 gb, with 16gb X 4 slots (or two of the 32gb kits).

 

[Zdigital2015]

Hi. As you all know I just got a 2017 3.8 27" Imac and am wanted to buy some RAM upgrades for it as it comes standard with 8G I assume. While I would like to go all out with 64G I cant afford that right now so my question is how much is a good compromise? Will be doing some gaming, Graphic art and video editiong.
Also do I add it in 8G increments or 16G increments depending on how much I add? It has 4 slots right, so I assume there is just one 8G RAM chip in it?
Thx

The 27” iMac ships with two 4GB SO-DIMMs, leaving two free slots. Buying two 16GB SO-DIMMS will get you to 40GB, which would be plenty for 4K work and then you can add two more 16GB SO-DIMMs later to get to 64GB.

 

[mikehalloran]

Apple recommends RAM be installed in pairs in an iMac.

Although not enough RAM can affect performance, too much doesn't improve it.

If you're looking to the future such as photograph editing, video or music production, get a pair of 16G sticks. This will put you at 40G—very few will need more but it's there if you need. Otherwise, get a pair of 8G to make 24G which is a good level for most users.